Welcome to Gaia! ::

"You better believe it," Leyenda grinned. "One of each. Xion was first, and then Rhiannon. Healthy, all of them. No complications, I'm told." She laughed again. "You should see Aurin. Prouder than a phoenix in full flame."

"Can we see them?" Amalirahc asked hopefully.

Leyenda shook her head. "They're asleep now, and Rhea too. Tomorrow."

"I'm sure she would love that," Leyenda grinned. "Come on, let's have dinner. There's something of a feast in celebration, I hope you're all hungry!"

She took Amalirahc by the hand and started off towards the dining hall.

Amalirahc grinned at his friend. "A feast is when there's something very important to celebrate, something very special. So there's lots more food than usual, and it's always really special treats and stuff that we don't get usually!"

Clearly, he had been to a few.

Just before they reached the dining room, Earendil caught up with them. He came up behind them suddenly and scooped Miyuki up into his arms, tossing her up into the air and spinning her around to face him, and catching her in a hug. "Ha! I've got you!" he cried gleefully.

Earendil chuckled and hugged Miyuki tightly, then leaned forward to kiss Lin on the forehead. "Welcome back," he grinned at her. "I hope you had good day."

"Hey, did you hear?" Amalirahc grinned up at Earendil. "Rhea had two babies!"

Earendil laughed. "I heard. I even saw them for a minute."

"That's good," Earendil grinned. "And yes, I was lucky. I ducked in for a minute about half an hour ago, and I was only in there about two minutes before I was asked to leave. But by the Valar, those kids are adorable!"

He chuckled and set Miyuki on the floor. "Now come on, it's time to celebrate."

He held one hand out to Lin, his eyes bright and warm.

The ironic part of the celebration was that none of the people that the celebration was for ever ended up showing up. Rhea and the twins were still asleep, as far as anyone knew, and Aurin remained at Rhea's side. Still, it was a good celebration, and it lasted until quite late compared to other dinners.

At long last, however, it was time for everyone to go to bed, and Earendil carried Miyuki in his arms as he accompanied Lin to her room.

"So I spoke with Aerin," he smiled at her. "Earlier today. She says it doesn't matter what day I would like to take a break, after all I'm here doing her a favour. So I guess it's up to you."

He smiled softly. "Perhaps tomorrow would be a good day. We could visit Rhea and the twins, have the morning to ourselves, and then head to the beach for our picnic lunch and swimming lessons."

A slow smile spread across Earendil's face. "I think that sounds like a wonderful idea," he murmured softly. "You are a genius. It's good for them to learn together, they do seem to make good progress that way."

He looked down at Lin, his eyes warm. "And it would give us some real time together."

Perhaps they could even go down to the beach together first, and have the others meet them there after lunch or something.

Earendil chuckled softly. "Yes. Time we need to spend." He smiled warmly. "There is something I've been wanting to ask you about. Nothing to worry about, just ... something."

Something it was difficult to talk about when Miyuki was around.